Plans for eco home in Whitwell approved at appeal
A farmer has won her fight to build a £400,000 eco-home.
June Titterton-Fox, who lives in Whitwell, applied for permission in 2020 to create a single-storey, three-bedroom home dug into one of two fields she owns in the village.
Describing it as a ‘21st Century farmhouse’, she claims it will be one of the most energy-efficient properties in the UK with its own water supply, waste dealt with on site, and excess power sold back to the grid.
The proposal was due to be debated by Rutland county councillors at a planning meeting in February last year. Instead, planning officers used their delegated powers to refuse the application, describing it as ‘unacceptable'.
Officers said the development would “be visually intrusive and impact adversely on the form and character of the area” and while weight should be given to innovative designs which promote high levels of sustainability it “is only so long as the development fits in with the overall form and layout of their surroundings.”
A number of residents objected to the application for Field House, claiming it would be a “blot on the landscape”.
Following the refusal of the application, June, a county councillor representing Exton, appealed to the Planning Inspectorate which gave its approval.
Planning Inspectorate spokesman Dominic Young said the council’s reasons for refusal went against advice outlined in the Planning Practice Guide.
He gave the application his approval.
Mr Young dismissed concerns that the single-storey home would be visually intrusive, and explained that “the proposed ‘state of the art’ property has been carefully and sensitively designed to the most exacting environmental standards.”
June said she was ‘delighted’ that her plans have finally been approved and hopes the building process is quicker than the time it took to get permission.
